View full sizeGMA field next to General MotorsâÂÂ Orion Assembly Plant, home of the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, will soon hold a solar array with enough capacity to annually power 45 homes in Michigan.

LAKE ORION, MI- A $2 million solar array will be installed in a field next to General Motors Co.’s Orion Assembly Plant, officials announced today.

Energy from the 350-kilowatt array -- owned by DTE Energy -- will be sent back to the grid for use by area homes and businesses, including the plant. In total, the energy saved will be equivalent to avoiding 261 metric tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

The array is part of DTE Energy's SolarCurrents pilot program that calls for the installation of photovoltaic systems on customer rooftops or property during the next three years. The goal is to generate 15 megawatts of electricity throughout Southeast Michigan.

”SolarCurrents builds on our long partnership with GM to help it become as energy-efficient as possible,” said Trevor Lauer, DTE Energy vice president of marketing & renewables. “Our partnership with GM is another example of how our companies work to build a more energy-efficient and sustainable future.”

DTE Energy will build the array on a two-acre parcel facing south to maximize output.

“Last year, we committed to doubling our global solar output at our facilities from 30 megawatts to 60 by 2015,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs. “We believe in harnessing energy from clean, renewable sources because there a solid business case to be made and it’s good for the environment. This array reinforces our progress.”

Officials did not know at this time how much energy will go to GM, but it will add to the plant's environmental efforts that include saving $1.1 million annually by using power generated by two landfills; lighting upgrades; and new eco paint process that eliminates the need for a primer oven is heated by landfill gas, and it uses half of the energy per vehicle of the one it replaced.

Orion Assembly's more than 1,800 employs build the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano.